Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 EUNICE, La. - The Murray State College baseball team earned a hard-fought split against No. 10 LSU Eunice, dropping a 2–1 extra-inning decision in game one before responding with an emphatic 12–7 win in the nightcap.
 
Game 1: LSU Eunice 2, Murray State 1 (11 innings)
The opener developed into a tense pitchers' duel that stretched deep into extra innings. LSU Eunice struck first in the bottom of the second inning when Rowan Bergeron tripled and later scored on a sacrifice fly to give the Bengals a 1–0 lead.
 
Murray State answered in the top of the fifth. After working baserunners aboard, Brady Taylor delivered a clutch RBI single to center field to score Cason Johnson and tie the game at 1–1. From there, both pitching staffs took control. The Aggies worked out of multiple scoring threats, including clean defensive innings in the eighth, ninth, and tenth.
 
Murray State had chances to break through in extras, highlighted by a Brady Taylor double in the 10th, but could not push across the go-ahead run. In the bottom of the 11th, LSU Eunice capitalized on a series of hit batters and walks to force in the winning run, handing the Aggies a tough 2–1 loss.
 
Game 2: Murray State 12, LSU Eunice 7
LSU Eunice jumped out to a 2–0 lead in the first inning and extended it to 3–1 in the third, but Murray State steadily chipped away. Rayner Beene drove in a run with a double in the third, and the Aggies broke through in the fourth inning when Brady Taylor ripped a two-run double to tie the game at 3–3. A groundout later in the inning brought home another run, giving Murray State a 4–3 advantage.
 
The Aggies continued to build momentum in the fifth and sixth innings, manufacturing runs with timely singles, sacrifice bunts, and a sacrifice fly to stretch the lead to 7–3. The decisive moment came in the seventh, when Murray State erupted for a big inning highlighted by Grey Johnson's two-run triple and a sacrifice fly from Tanner Norman, pushing the lead to 11–3.
 
Murray State added an insurance run in the ninth on an RBI double from Marlon Moore. LSU Eunice mounted a late rally in the bottom of the ninth, including a two-run double and a two-run home run, but the Aggies held on to secure the 12–7 victory.
 
Three Aggies - Michael Barham, Brady Taylor, and Grey Johnson - recorded a pair of hits and a pair of RBI's in the contest. Heath Graf earned the win for the Aggies with a scoreless relief outing.
 
The Aggies return to the diamond on Sunday, Feb. 1 to conclude the series with LSU-Eunice. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.
 
Sports Information Director: Justin Wagner | jgwagner@mscok.edu
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